Next up in Larry’s incredible garage is sort of a unicorn. As an automotive photographer, I’ve seen and shot all sorts of rare vehicles, but the last time I could remember seeing a Saleen S7 was at an auto show almost 20 years ago. Yet here it was, in front of me.
Once again, the car came with a “do not move” rule, but that’s ok. We’ll use creativity and different angles to give these shots a new look compared to last week’s Rimac.
Prop me up
I lamented that I forgot my photographer’s haze during the Rimac shoot, but I remembered it here. It would help me give the Saleen a different mood from the Rimac. Also handy was a set of tires on hand for Larry’s Porsche Macan. But, this is a garage, and a stack of tires helps to give these images a unique composition. By setting them off to the side, we give the eye something to help draw attention in towards the car by framing it.
Pretty in purple
The purple accent wall was featured in the Rimac shoot, but there, it was just an accent. Here, I kept the exposure open longer and just left those purple lights on. The result is pretty nice. It highlights the dramatic curves of the Saleen while giving it dramatic shadow. Then, I turned them off and lit the car with my ice light as I usually do. Just enough to fill in some details.
Let’s get sudsy with the Saleen
AMMO is a detailing brand. So I had the car sprayed down with AMMO FOAM and worked quickly to light paint it. This isn’t the norm though – the soap moves! That means multiple exposures would be difficult. I left the purple lights on, had the brake lights on, and lit the car much further away for a broader coverage. I still had to combine a few shots, but the result is pretty dramatic, and there is minimal ghosting.
Haze me down
Finally, the headlights. They always get their own exposure, but I wanted to highlight the light beam that comes out. Sometimes, photographer’s haze can sit still, but here we had a draft. That means moving quickly to capture the “cloud” affect before it dissipated. My advice here is to bring plenty and experiment with shots until you have one you like.
The Saleen was so low, wide and awesome. It’s a beautiful car and one I hope I get to see again!
Special thanks to Larry for making the Saleen available. Car provided by The Cultivated Collector.
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I use Nikon camera bodies and lenses, a Westcott Ice Light 2, Manfrotto tripod, B + W filters and an iMac Pro to make the art you see here.
Email me at mike@machineswithsouls.com with any questions.
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